I arrived in Kolkata on the “Darjeeling Mail” at 6.20 am,
just 20 minutes late on a 10 hour overnight journey from Siliguri. Trains on
Indian Railways are denominated with numbers in addition to rather quaint
names
by which they are more generally known by rail travellers. This was my third
and final sector of this 90 day rail journey, that runs overnight—much more
comfortable that I had beforehand expected and this morning I arrive refreshed
after 6-7 hours in the Land of Nod. Must be the rolling stock squeaks and
mysterious bangs that hypnotise me!
Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, changed its name
in 2001, to make it more phonetic for Bengalis. The city, pop.14.7 million,
covering 187 sq. kms is just 10m above sea-level which explains reported
flooding in the streets, when there are monsoon rains—memories of Bangkok!.
Kolkata was the capital of the Raj up to 1911, when as the result of an earlier
1905 administrative decision to split the State of Bengal into two parts,
resulted in wide-spread unrest, the British applied the quick fix and moved the
capital to Delhi.
My hotel, or to be more accurate residency, aka
guest-house, is located in the ‘new’ area Salt Lake City section, 10 kms. away
from the centre, making it a full 45 minute ($3.50) taxi ride in grindingly
slow traffic,. Yes, I think I made a mistake with this hotel—generally I like
to be nearer the centre where better facilities for tourists usually exist.
Anyway, it is, on budget, clean and quiet---not always guaranteed in India.
Let's face it, Kolkata carries baggage in terms of its
world-wide reputation in terms of poverty and urban blight. I have to say at
this point, on the basis of a superficial 3 hour meander to try and orient
myself in the central area, it does appear (surprisingly) to me to be
significantly cleaner and somewhat more sophisticated compared to both Delhi
and Mumbai ----only a single cow spotted on a traffic island, so far! During
this initial centre city stroll, I felt quite safe on the streets and everyone
I spoke with was extremely helpful and friendly. Only negative experience was
upon entering the taxi to return to my hotel when I was accosted by a couple of
young female street beggars who tried to bar my entry, till I had given them
money. I had to use some muscle to push them away so as to be able to close the
cab door. Early this morning, I did see awfully squalid slums bordering the
rail tracks on the approach the rail terminus—with many living & sleeping
in total poverty, under plastic sheeting.
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| Need a loan --put up the wife's gold... |
Police & security in India. I judge that police in
India do not have a good image with the public. They seem distant, surly and
unapproachable. Mostly they are older men that have the air of being
ex-military & lathis (long clubs) or with a
machine gun. They loiter in the shade, or sit in police
vehicles reading the newspaper. Those few traffic police that are on point duty at
central points, not many traffic light functional here, lethargically gesture to the traffic with an air of---“I have
given up---all this is too much for me”! It has been indicated to me that if
you need police help you better have your wallet out & be ready to make a
donation to the ‘Police Retirement Fund’.
usually armed with metre long
The
private sector cousins of police are the omni-present ‘security’ guards that
hang about outside of almost any significant office building, 'high class shops', banks, hospital,
hotels etc., etc. Self appointed security guards even set themselves up to
guard parking spots for select and generous customers. Clearly the massive use
of security guards in India is another manifestation of a major over supply of unskilled labour,
resulting in very low wages and general under employment.
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